This application is related and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-004413, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a component handling apparatus and a method of handling the same. More specifically, the present invention relates to a component handling apparatus for handling devices such as electronic components, for visual inspection, characteristic measurement, screening, marking, and taping, while transporting the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic components, such as monolithic ceramic capacitors, undergo various processes including: visual inspection, characteristic measurement, screening based on a pass/fail criteria, as well as marking, for example, of a product mark, or taping, after manufacturing and prior to shipment.
For example, when carrying out a visual inspection, a plurality of electronic components are successively fed to the station for undergoing a visual inspection, one by one, and then screened based on the result of the visual inspection at the screening station. When carrying out a characteristic measurement, a plurality of electronic components are successively fed to the station for the characteristic measurement, one by one, and screened based on the result of the characteristic measurement at the screening station. Likewise, when carrying out a taping, a plurality of electronic components are successively fed to the taping station one by one, and individually inserted into the cavities provided on the tape.
When carrying out the respective processes for a visual inspection, characteristic measurement, screening, and taping, a handling technique to handle more than one electronic component, while transporting the same, is required.
In order to proceed with each process, i.e., visual inspection, characteristic measurement, screening, marking, or taping efficiently, it is desired to increase both the transport speed of the electronic components and the number of components that can be handled in a unit of time.
As the transportation speed is increased, the impact applied to the electronic components increases, which may cause damage to the electronic components. Likewise, electronic components may jump out from the predetermined path due to a rebound thereof. Therefore, it is desired to prevent damage or jumping out of the electronic components during the high-speed transportation.
It is also desired that the processes for visual inspection, characteristic measurement, screening, marking, or taping, as described above, be carried out successively and, preferably, automatically.
In the characteristic measurement process, for example, sufficient time to carry out a characteristic measurement precisely can be provided for each individual electronic component while increasing the speed as described above.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a component handling apparatus and a method for handling the components which satisfy the requirements described above.
The first aspect of the present invention is a component handling apparatus for transporting components, including a component transporting device. The transporting device is defined by a hollow transportation path for transporting the components, having a component intake port on one end and a discharging port on the other end.
The component transporting device described above includes a gas intake port for the admission of a flow of gas in the vicinity of the component intake port. The flow of gas taken through the gas intake port provides the component intake port with a negative pressure for feeding components from the outside into the component intake port, and provides a driving force for transporting the components through the transportation path toward the component discharging port.
In addition, the component transporting device comprises a gas discharging port for discharging the gas in the transportation path. Discharging the gas through the gas discharging port decreases the transport speed of the components.
Preferably, in such a component handling apparatus, the transportation path is tapered from the component intake port toward the component discharging port.
Preferably, the gas discharging port includes means for controlling the gas discharging pressure. The gas discharging port may be opened toward the atmosphere for simplifying the structure of the component transporting device.
The component handling means described below is advantageously used while handling electronic components. In such a case, the component handling apparatus includes an index table that can be used for measuring the characteristic of the electronic components and, more specifically, having a plurality of holding recesses along the periphery thereof for receiving the electronic components discharged from the component discharging port. Holding recesses, adjacent one another, are provided in the index table. As the index table rotates, it transports the components in a circumferential direction, towards a characteristic measuring section for measuring the characteristic of the electronic components located at a predetermined position on the transportation path. The electronic components are transported along with the rotation of the index table.
When applied to the characteristic measurement of the electronic components described above, preferably, there is also provided a characteristically defective components discharging section, downstream of the characteristic measuring section, and on the transportation path of the rotation of the index table for discharging the characteristically defective electronic components. A characteristically satisfactory components discharging section provided downstream of the characteristically defective components discharging section for discharging the characteristically satisfactory electronic components may also be provided.
The characteristically satisfactory components discharging section is provided with, for example, a taping device for taping the electronic components, or a device for packing them in bulk.
There may be provided a marking section, for applying marks on the electronic components, at a predetermined position on the transportation path. This will allow the electronic components to be transported, along with the rotation of the index table.
The component handling apparatus as described above may be provided with a component feeding device for feeding the components to the component intake port of the component transporting device, and a visual inspection section for viewing the image of the component.
In this case, the component feeding device includes a components delivering section positioned so as to face toward the component intake port. The components delivered from the component delivering section are sent to the component intake port, while maintaining the state of being suspended in the air based on the negative pressure applied to the component intake port. The visual inspection section picks up the image of the component while it is suspended in the air, but prior to the component entering into the component intake port.
Preferably, the component feeding device described above includes a vibration feeder. The component delivering section is, however, maintained to be free from vibrations.
Preferably, the component delivering section described above includes a aligning groove defined by two side surfaces, arranged in a V-shaped cross section, which comes into contact with the side surfaces of the components. This arrangement facilitates alignment of the components respective to one another. The side surfaces of the aligning grooves are inclined at an angle of 10 to 80 degrees with respect to the vertical plane.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a component handling apparatus for handling components, and while transporting the same, is provided and includes a component feeding device, a component transporting device, and an index table.
The component feeding device includes a vibration feeder for feeding a plurality of components, and a component delivering section for individually delivering the components fed by the vibration feeder.
The component transporting device includes a hollow transportation path for transporting the components, having a component intake port on one end and a component discharging port on the other end. The component intake port is positioned so as to face toward the component delivering section and is provided with a gas intake port for the admission of a flow of gas in the vicinity of he component intake port. The flow of gas taken through the gas intake port provides the component intake port with a negative pressure for feeding components from the component delivery section to the component intake port. The admitted gas flow also provides a driving force for transporting the component with the airflow through the transportation path and towards the component discharging port.
The index table is provided with a plurality of holding recesses along the periphery thereof for individually receiving the electronic components transported by the airflow.
In the component handling apparatus, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the components delivered from the component delivering section are sent to the component intake port. This is accomplished while the component maintains the state of being suspended in the air based on the negative pressure applied to the component intake port. There may be further provided a visual inspection section for picking up the image of the component while it is suspended in the air, and prior to being fed into the component intake port.
As described above, when the component handling apparatus is provided with a visual inspection device, there may be further provided a visually defective components discharging section. This section discharges the visually defective components at a predetermined position on the transportation path, while the components are transported, along with the rotation of the index table.
When the components are electronic components, a characteristic measuring section is provided for measuring the characteristic of the electronic components at a predetermined position on the transportation path, while the electronic components are transported, along with the rotation of the index table.
The component handling apparatus may be provided with a taping device for taping the components at a predetermined position on the transportation path, while the components are transported along with the rotation of the index table.
The component handling apparatus, according to the third aspect of the present invention, is an apparatus for handling the electronic components, more specifically, for handling these components while transporting the same.
The present invention also includes the method for handling the components, wherein the components are handled by the use of the component handling apparatus as described above.